We've got an Expression 3, and I always have the
blackout key disabled. I have no use for it, and that is where I keep my clearcom box. I've had times where the box has pressed the
button down, but it was disabled.
I haven't tried it since but I don't think that the grandmaster or the
blackout button will record to cues. I've had cues in which all that happens is the lights dim. So I pulled the GM down, but it still recorded the full levels. I may be crazy though, I haven't had another chance to test that.
The reason I asked is because we're looking at replacing our
current desk, a Lightronics 3256 (I think that's the model- I'm not at the
theatre right now) because it's had some issues for a while. Looking at other consoles, including the
Express, my curiosity about the "
Blackout" button- but moreso the "Go" button- resurfaced.
Our budget is extremely limited, with grants living low on the priority list. As a result, we've been living on our
box office for the last five years, but fortunately for us, the new and
current ED is very motivated and excited about exploring and getting outside funding resources.
Because of this, even a $3000 board is considered out of reach for us, and being a
community theatre, our light and sound ops vary with each show. Simplicity is paramount for us, lol- that is, press "Go" and know what to do if something goes wrong. Example: Our
current show, "Proof", the director is having to run the lights; this is a 70+ year-old man from Chicago who grew up on the old X/Y analog boards and has no desire to learn about the "newfangled" stuff. He asked me what to do if he messed up a
cue, and I told him that the "Go"
button is kind of sensitive and if he were going to
cue 19, for example, and accidentally jumped to
cue 22, all he had to do was press 19* on the keypad and press "Go", then he would be okay.
We have 24 2.4k dimmers, and hope to upgrade to at least 36, but probably never much beyond that. Our inventory has a total of approximately forty instruments of various sorts, and our
grid has 59
edison circuits. We don't have MLs or LEDs, and probably won't for a very long time, much as I love the LEDs and the possibilities with them (color changing without gels) and think how cool the MLs are. We seat 138, and because we are housed in an old railroad depot, cannot expand the original walls beyond that which has already been done; the new part stops ten feet short of a major hill that drops dramatically, so expanding that way is out of the question.
Sorry for the ramble, but just wanted to let you know where we are. I'm currently looking at the Lightronics 2448 and possibly the
ETC Smartfade (not ML). Lightronics because I'm most familiar with it (the 3256 was our first digital
console), and the
ETC because, well, it's
ETC. Both are priced about the same. Does the Smartfade have a "Go"
button, and can it be programmed easily? Was it designed for
theatre and programming cues? I've read several threads on it, and after doing such, am quite honestly pretty confused about what it really does. I know people love it or hate it, think it's junk or isn't, but I'm looking for a two-scene
preset with a "Go"
button.
We're doing
Jeckyll & Hyde this fall, and I'm the LD. Imagine doing that show with what we have...
Our booth, btw, is very small, like 6'x8' (ish). Please see the pics in my
profile. We hoping to move the booth to up center
house before next season, but that's another thread...
